A public consultation held to engage and involve members residents in plans to develop a digital gaming hub in the former Whittles building on Duke Street in Whitehaven was “a shining success”, according to organisers.
The consultation, which ran from Tuesday to Thursday, was hosted at the Beacon Portal and saw people from all ages and backgrounds play their part in the development. The project, which will be brought to fruition by BEC, aims to support and encourage the growth of the younger generation and their modern skill sets, with a futuristic development.
Michael Pemberton, BEC’s CEO said: ‘I’d like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who attended our event, it was brilliant to meet so many talented young people and hear how the hub can support their future aspirations. You’ve shared some amazing ideas and opinions – including possible names, how the space should look and feel and the types of learning and leisure experiences you want to see in the hub – all of which will help to inform our proposal.
“Finally, I’d also like to thank the team at VR Gateway for delivering the virtual reality experiences and highlighting the huge potential that exists in the sector.”
BEC purchased the derelict building earlier this year and have the ambition to create something the community are part of, Stephen Holland, Head of Development at BEC, added: “We were really pleased with the response and turnout at our engagement event, a big thank you to all those who came, and shared their ideas and enthusiasm with the BEC team.
“I hope they all enjoyed the event as much as us. It is clear there is a great demand for a digital and gaming hub in Whitehaven, and that there is a lot of digital talent in West Cumbria just waiting to be nurtured. This was the first event in an ongoing programme of engagement and consultation, so we get this hub right.
“We are currently correlating all the ideas and wishes collected and will use them to educate the look and feel of the hub, refining the final design through further consultation. I would also like to thank VR Gateway for their help in staging the event and opening our eyes to the potential of the sector to benefit not only our residents and community but also our businesses sector through the skills that our digital talent can bring.
“The feedback we have received is diverse, interesting, and actionable, we look forward to sharing the findings of our survey with the public soon. We are excited to create the right solution for the town.
